Chevy Camaro Suspension Bushings - Along Came Polyurethane

Energy Suspension's HYPER-FLEX Bushings

So it's the little things that matter most, huh? Whether it's true or not, I'm unsure. But when it comes to suspension, there is certainly a case to be made. It's a common misconception that all one needs are new shocks, sway bars, a Panhard bar, and so on, and their car is ready to take the high seas straight to the track. This is where the problem lies, however. All those components do work, and drastically improve handling by stabilizing unwanted suspension movement. Whether it's made to stabilize lateral, forward, or an up-and-down motion, aftermarket suspension components are made to keep the car tight and straight. Although the new suspension parts are doing just that, the bushings in those parts might not be.

Factory OEM bushings are designed for highway cruising, not dipping into a corner at accelerated speeds or taking on loads of torque. Because of this, the bushings crush under pressure, which decreases handling and performance. Even though the new suspension parts are doing exactly what they are designed to do, the rubber bushings can't quite keep up with the demands of the car, and you suffer. Many suspension companies sell their products (considering these products require bushings) with polyurethane bushings already installed to fix the problem. But when it comes to control arm bushings, motor mounts, torque arm mounts, and parts you don't plan on replacing, the only way to compensate is to install the polyurethane bushings yourself.

Energy Suspension in San Clemente, California, has the cure for the inadequate rubber bushings. Throughout its two decades of polyurethane bushing development, HYPER-FLEX technology has been applied to nearly all aspects of the Chevy market. What exactly is HYPER-FLEX? Its Energy Suspension's technically advanced chemical formulation performance polyurethane that has been granted nine U.S. patents. The HYPER-FLEX polyurethane product is much more durable, performance-oriented, and longer lasting than rubber components used on cars, trucks, SUVs, and the like. The bushings can also withstand oils, atmospheric conditions such as ozone, smog, road salt, chemicals, and other contaminants that can destroy and breakdown rubber bushings over time.

HYPER-FLEX bushings are also designed for each specific application. Because some parts need to be stiffer and some softer, Energy designs each bushing with the correct durometer, which is firmness or softness. From front to back, Energy has designed a bushing to replace the OEM rubber bushings on just about all Chevy cars and trucks. Whether it's a control arm bushing, a trailing arm, a Panhard bar, an end link, a leaf-spring pad, or a body mount. If there's an OEM bushing, there's a good chance Energy has one, as well.

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Chevy Camaro Suspension Bushings - Along Came Polyurethane

An Energy HYPER-FLEX master set is made up of front and rear control arm bushings, front and rear sway bar bushings, front and rear end link set, torque arm mount, rear Panhard bar bushings, and tie rod end boots. Other parts such as motor mounts, torque arm bushings, leaf-spring pads, and more can be ordered separately.

Never judge a job by its parts size, because there's no if, ands, or buts that rebuilding your frontend is a big job. Even though the parts are small, the job itself requires the frontend to be completely stripped down. On this '95 Camaro, both the upper and lower control arms were removed, along with the coilover setup and the spindle brake setup. At Energy Suspension's install center, Bill used this puller to pry the spindles firm grip from the ball joints on the arms.

With the arms freed up, the rest of the suspension was removed

With the suspension torn apart, we began the process of removing the old control arm bushings. Bill started with the upper control arm. The arm is bolted to a mounting bracket, and in order to remove the bushings, the arm needs to be removed from the bracket.

With the upper control arm out in the open, it was pretty clear that these bushings were beyond shot. How can you tell? For one thing, notice how the bushing is completely cracked, and secondly, the bushing sleeve has about a 1/8-inch gap between the actual bushing when a minimal amount of pressure is applied. Yeah, that's not supposed to be like that. Bushings are designed to act as a cushion and isolate any metal-to-metal contact revolving around the control arms, not just sit there. From this picture you can see that by taking a simple screwdriver and just barely applying some pressure, the bushing completely crushes.

On the bottom arm, things were no different. Not only was this bushing shot, but nearly half of the bushing rubber was M.I.A. Check it out: you can actually see the light of day right where the tip of the orange arrow is because the bushings has rotted away. I think I know where that knock was coming from whenever I hit a bump or hole in the road.

On the bottom arm, things were no different. Not only was this bushing shot, but nearly half of the bushing rubber was M.I.A. Check it out: you can actually see the light of day right where the tip of the orange arrow is because the bushings has rotted away. I think I know where that knock was coming from whenever I hit a bump or hole in the road.

When the inner metal sleeves are pressed in glue is applied to the outside of the sleeve to help it remain in the bushings. By heating up the inside of the sleeve it burns off the glue. When smoke starts billowing out of the sleeve it means the glue is burning off and its time to remove the sleeve by prying it from the bushing with a screwdriver.

As for the bushing still left in the arms, spray some WD-40 around the area and push the bushing out with a screwdriver.

Along with the bushings being shot, every single dust cap was also shot. The OEM bushings are made up of a metal base with a rubber cap at the end. Along the upper rim of the metal base, the bushings were slashed open. Energy makes polyurethane replacement dust caps along with new bushings.

With all the bushings out, Bill used a wire brush to clean any out-of-control arm buildup in the housings.

One key aspect to running polyurethane bushings is that they need to be greased. Unlike rubber bushings, the Energy polyurethane bushings will sound like you have a squawking parrot under your ride if not properly greased. Energy supplies you with their Formula 5 Prelube, a special type of lubricant that is long-lasting, waterproof, and keeps the squeaks away. Before the bushings were put in, the control arm housings were lubed up.

Along with the housing being lubed the new Energy Suspension bushings are lubed, as well.

Once the bushings are slid into place, the OEM inner sleeve is pressed in using a hand press. Just like the OEM application, the inner sleeve locks the bushings in place.

With the new Energy polyurethane bushings installed, the control arm was bolted back up to its mounting bracket and installed in the car.

When installing the new bushings in the lower control arm, there is an outer sleeve that needs to be pressed in.

Unlike the upper control arms, the lower bushings don't utilize the OEM outer sleeve. Once the sleeve is pressed out, the bushings can be lubed, installed, and the OEM inner sleeve can lock everything in place.

Since all we set out to do was rebuild the front end, the install is now complete,. All that's left to do is start putting the frontend back together and take the car to the alignment shop.

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